There are no rules against working as a stockbroker part time. If you have a broker's license and some contacts in the business, you can probably find an investment firm that will allow you to work less than full time. However, it may be difficult if not impossible to work part time -- and be successful -- if you are starting out as a stockbroker.

Broker License Requirements

You must pass the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency Series 7 General Securities Representative and Series 63 Uniform Securities Agent State Law tests to become a stockbroker. The two tests take a day and a half and cost about $400, not including any study course you take in preparation. More importantly, you must be sponsored by a FINRA-registered brokerage firm to take the tests. The brokerage company will usually pay the costs of the tests and in-person study course for new full-time stockbrokers. If you want to work just part-time, the company may want you to pay your own registration and testing costs. You only need to take the tests once, so if you have a Series 7.63 license, you can go right to work for a brokerage firm.

Working For Commissions

The typical compensation for a stockbroker involves some sort of commission structure. A broker generates commissions, fees and dealer concessions for his firm by selling different investment products. A stockbroker's compensation consists of some percentage of the total fees she produces. It takes a lot of prospecting before a broker builds up a customer base that results in solid revenue. It is difficult for a new broker to win customers when working on a part-time basis. Part-time might work if a new broker has established prospects from another job or avocation.

Conflicts of Interest

The brokerage firm that hires an individual stockbroker must know about other types of work or conflicts that could affect his ability to provide advice to customers. If you want to be a broker part-time and have another job, any broker that hires you must be sure that your other job does not present a conflict of interest. Working as a broker exposes you to a lot of information about your customer's financial situations. As a result, a brokerage firm will want to make sure that information was not used outside your work as a stockbroker.

Full-Time to Part-Time

It would be easier for someone who has worked full-time as a stock broker to land work and earn reasonable money working part time. It might be possible to work limited hours for one of the discount brokers as a registered broker to answer phone questions and help customers with problems. Another path would be to take an existing customer base and set up a self-employed brokerage business with a goal of working limited hours providing investment services for a select group of established clients.

About the Author

Tim Plaehn has been writing financial, investment and trading articles and blogs since 2007. His work has appeared online at Seeking Alpha, Marketwatch.com and various other websites. Plaehn has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the U.S. Air Force Academy.